Thursday, February 29, 2024, 16:00
OSGA/EG06
Tiziano Camporesi, CERN
Abstract:
The Large Hadron Collider (LHC) proton-proton collisions generate a
significant flux of high-energy neutrinos in the very forward regions.
The SND@LHC experiment, installed ahead of the RUN2 of LHC in 2021, aims
to exploit this abundant source of neutrinos. Positioned 480m away from
the ATLAS collision point in an alcove of the LHC tunnel, the experiment
pursues multiple research goals. It extends the measurement of neutrino
cross sections to previously unexplored energy ranges, enabling the
comparison of all three types of neutrinos and the examination of flavor
symmetries. Furthermore, it aims to enhance understanding of Parton
Distribution Functions (PDFs) as most of the Neutrinos come from the
decay of Charm Mesons produced at parton momentum fraction range of x <
10-6.
Beyond its primary mission, SND@LHC is poised to explore scenarios
beyond the Standard Model, particularly involving long-lived neutral
particles interacting within the neutrino target. In this seminar I will
present the first results from the data taken in 2022-2023 and I will
mention the upgrade plans aimed at extending the operation of the
experiment during the High Luminosity LHC program, ensuring its
continued relevance and impact. I will outline the proposed substitution
of Nuclear Emulsions, currently employed as the active element in the
neutrino target, with silicon detectors. In particular I will discuss
the option of using cutting-edge large-area CMOS Pixel Maps modules.